Hidden(?) files using 17Gb of disc storage space!

[Hornblower]

I have tried to upload a video from my Panasonic video camera using Windows Movie Maker. I had 23Gb of free space But after sveral attempts to upload and combine two video cassettes of 60 mins each the available capacity on my hard disc wasn't enough. I then deleted(or so I thought all the temp files and 'collections' created by the upload, but ended up with just 15Gb of free storage space. Have gone into my personal folder which contains Desktop, Start Menu and My Documents etc. to find that the folder size is 28Gb, although when I total up the individual folders within that main folder I can only find a total of 11Gb, how do I find out what the other 17Gb consists of. Hornblower

 

[eggplant]

First off, depending on the format you are saving as, 20 odd gig might not be enough anyways.
As for the missing space, could be a few things, swap file will take a bit, plenty of system files also, and possibly the cause of most of the confusion is that whatecer program you are using to copy the video over is using temp space, for eg, if you have 10 gig spare and a video clip that WOULD take up say 7 gig on your drive, the program needs to "do its bits and pieces" so needs to "borrow" some space on your drive to do this - this can be as much as the entire clip, or less. So the clip is 7 gig, the program needs 7 gig of temp space =14 gig which of course wont fit.

 

[Hornblower]

Thank eggplant for your response. How do I identify and then delete these temp files. When I look at the folder it shows a 28Gb size, but identifies only 11Gb. Somewhere in there is a 17Gb file which I need to delete before I attempt another video upload.

 

[Softus]

A few ideas off the top of my head.

1. Turn on the "show hidden files and folders" option in Explorer options.
2. Use the search tool to find files greater than a particular size.
3. Use a utility (e.g. TreeSize Pro) to display statistics about the folder hierarchy.

 

[Hornblower]

Thanks Softus. I am not aure what 'TreeSize Pro', but have tried your other ideas. What I can't nderstand is why can I not identify the file that is taking up so much disc space. Hornblower

 

[Softus]

There might be more than file, but I wouldn't even bother trying to understand it until I've found the source of the problem.

BTW, have you run a disk check?

______________
PS - you can get Tree Size Pro from here:
http://www.jam-software.com/treesize/download.shtml

 

[Hornblower]

Thanks Softus - TreeSize Pro worked!! I had 17Gbs of temp .dv files hidden on my drive, clogging the system up. They have now all gone. great work and thanks. Hornblower

 

[Softus]

Result! High fives all round. Happy New Year.